Israeli strikes kill 12 in Gaza

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 12 Palestinians in Gaza on Monday and residents said they feared new air and ground attacks and forced evacuations were aimed at emptying areas in the enclave’s north to create buffer zones against Hamas militants.

The UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said Israel was scaling back the number of aid trucks allowed into Gaza, compounding shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies.

Israel denied this. But it said separately on Monday it had officially notified the United Nations that it was ending its relations with UNRWA, which has been a vital provider of aid to Palestinian civilians during the 13-month-long war between Israel and Hamas.

In the latest bloodshed, medics said seven people were killed in an attack on two houses in the north Gaza town of Beit Lahiya on Monday. Five more were killed in separate strikes in central and southern parts of the enclave, medics told Reuters.

Israel deployed tanks into Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya on Oct. 5, saying it intended to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli forces were continuing to bomb the Kamal Adwan Hospital and had injured many staff and patients. “The medical staff cannot move between the hospital departments and cannot rescue their injured colleagues. It seems that a decision has been made to execute all the staff who refused to evacuate the hospital,” it said.

Palestinians said the new offensives and orders for people to leave were “ethnic cleansing” aimed at emptying Gaza towns.

Offensive reaches Damascus

Initial reports following a loud explosion near Damascus say an Israeli strike targeted the Sayeda Zeinab area, Syrian state media SANA said on Monday.